The cards in this deck represent the Stations of the Cosmic Christ, a series of images that enable us to journey spiritually into the Divine within us and through the energies of the Divine that are woven into the very fabric of the universe. These cards can assist us in meditating on the Christ within us and discovering that presence within our own lives.
HOW TO USE THE CARDS:
1. To use the cards in a personal pilgrimage, slowly proceed from one card to another in an unfolding sequence of sixteen stations including cosmic moments named in theunfolding of the events of the Cosmic Christ, beginning with the Great Flaring Forth and interspersed with the I Am statements. The I Am statements ask the question of your Self: How am I a vine ? A door ? A good shepherd ? etc. The Cosmic Events challenge you to participate in the birth of the Christ within yourself; in the baptism and retreat in the desert; in the Transfiguration; the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, etc. The art works are meant to assist you in your practice.
2. A second practice is to separate the moments and events of the Cosmic Christ from the I Am statements. In that practice, proceed in two sessions. In the first, treat the events up through the Pentecost of the Spirit of Christ; then move through the cards representing the I Am statements. Invite the image, saying or experience into your heart. The book that accompanies these cards offers two meditations on each of the stations as well as prayers you might want to respond with. At the same time you are invited to create your own prayers. You could undertake these pilgrimages in one session, or you could attend to one card a day or one card per week find the rhythm that best suits you.
3. A second set of cards included here are called the Mandala of Christ. In using them we recommend that you first determine a central question alive in your life at the moment. Next, choose one of the cards to be at the center of the mandala, the card that seems most resonant with you and your prayer question. Then draw (seen or unseen) four cards to array around the central card, accepting the cards you draw as part of the givenness of the moment, expressive of the divine energies and of God s love for you. The resulting mandala is an image for meditation and guidance. It is our hope that these practices will nurture your spiritual growth by connecting you in ever deeper ways to the Cosmic Christ, Buddha Nature, Image of God, that is inherent in all individual beings and in the universe itself. Such an approach to the world grounds us in a genuine eco-practice, one that awakens our sense of the Sacred in all of creation and prepares us to love Mother Earth more deeply and defend her more courageously.
More about this practice and the Scripture and teachings behind it can be found in our book, The Stations of the Cosmic Christ along with commentaries by the artists who created the clay tablets that are reproduced on the front of these cards. Matthew Fox s book, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, provides a further resource for understanding the basic archetype. A list of the Stations follows along with a question with each to provoke meditation."